


These Eyes are Natural Disasters

by kategecko



Category: From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series
Genre: F/M, it's culebras, seth likes it when it's kate, there's blood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-27
Updated: 2016-12-28
Packaged: 2018-04-11 11:37:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4434062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kategecko/pseuds/kategecko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She wasn't sure what they had done to her when they let the serpent bite her as she laid strapped to yet another altar but she could feel the snake’s poison flowing through her veins like molten lava.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Oh god, it hurt._

The cuts in her skin from the blade Carlos was wielding stung but it was whatever venom that was injected in her veins that made her want to scream in pain until her throat was raw. Still, she stubbornly refused to give her captors the satisfaction.

She wasn't sure what they had done to her when they let the serpent bite her as she laid strapped to yet another altar but she could feel the snake’s poison flowing through her veins like molten lava.

“Untie the straps but make sure she doesn't get away.” Carlos commanded two men dressed head to toe in black as he strode towards Kate once again with his knife, waving it in front of her face to taunt her.

“Things may not have gone exactly as planned but at least we have you. You will make an excellent replacement for Santanico.” He tilted her chin up until she was forced to look into his eyes. “In fact, you are an upgrade. Her beauty was her power but beauty is only on the surface.” He points at her heart. “Yours comes from within. You have a light.”

Kate struggles against the two men who hold her as the knife inches up to her throat. _This it it. This is what I get for killing Daddy. I’m so sorry._ The blade drags down her neck, breaking the skin but still not deep enough to kill her. Blood trickles down her chest as he drags the blade closer to her heart.

“Easy, Katelyn. Once the ceremony is done you will be trapped in this temple but you'll be treated like a goddess.” He speaks as though he’s giving her a gift but it only makes her feel sick.

_No. Please no._

But just as he begins to push the knife into her chest the fiery pain in her veins fades away and is replaced with ice.

“No.”

\-------------------------------

The slowly rising sun was like a flame against her skin but she couldn’t stop, if they caught her she would be trapped in that temple. _I could do what Daddy couldn’t. Put a stake through my own chest and hope that God forgives me._

But then Seth comes storming out of the temple, looking furious and throwing down his jacket when he reaches the car. He stands there defeated, his head down and looking still for the first time since he barged into her life.

So she runs to him, because he’s the only one left in this world who knows what she’s gone through. _He’s my only hope._

 

She crashes into him, hugging him and begging for help as she buries her face against his chest. He grabs her by her arms and pushes her back to see her. “Kate! Jesus Christ, what happened?” He looks over her and it’s only then she remembers she’s covered in blood, both her own and the ones who were between her and her escape.

“Carlos… he wanted me to replace Santanico.” She looks up at Seth, feels the tears stinging her eyes. “Please, Seth. It hurts.” His gaze meets hers and she holds her breath as she waits for him to answer, watches as his expression softens and how he shakes his head as though he’s trying to clear it.

He looks down to where his hands grip her arms, eyes wide when he sees grey smoke billowing up off her skin. “Fuck, you’re burning. Fuck.” He reaches into the car for his discarded jacket and drapes it over her. He leans down, sees her peak out from under it to look up at him. “Feel like keeping me company?”

“Yeah.”

\-----------------------------

She isn’t sure how long they’ve been driving for.

She’s been huddled under Seth’s beat up jacket since they left, even after he finally managed to figure out how the roof of the convertible works to block out some of the sun. “Stupid car for a mexican vampire to have anyways.”

She doesn’t talk. Seth doesn’t say much either, just little quips when he can’t take the silence anymore. He looks over to Kate, hoping for a reaction, something to know she’s okay but she stays quiet and hidden under his jacket.

It isn’t until he parks in a shady spot outside a worn down gas station that she comes out from under her hiding spot. “Want anything?” Kate shakes her head ‘no’ as she stares down at her hands.

He comes bursting out of the doors a few minutes later, bags in one hand with a gun in the other. He tosses everything into the car and hops in the idling car. “Cover up! Quick!” Kate hides again as Seth peels out onto the gravel road.

\-------------------------------------

The sun has almost set when Kate puts on the sweatshirt Seth stole for her and pulls up the hood blocking out the last of the fading sun. She sits next to him on the hood of the car as he downs a bottle of water.

“Thank you for the sweater... and everything else.” Even as she tries to hide behind the hood he can see the tears rolling down her cheek before she tries to discreetly wipe them away. He pauses, trying to figure out the right move to make because for the first time in years he’s speechless.

Because even Seth knows “Sorry, I kidnapped you and your family which ultimately lead to your dad dying, your brother becoming a culebra and you… well, whatever did happen to you” is not going to cut it.

It also reminds him yet again that something isn’t right about what happened to Kate. She quietly told him all the grisly details of what Carlos did to her. Things that almost made him turn the car around, go straight back to that shitty excuse for a bar and stake Carlos himself but as satisfying as it sounds, he wants to put as much distance between them and that place as possible.

He’s also pretty sure whatever Carlos did to Kate didn’t work, at least not entirely. He was with Richie after he became one of those snake faced assholes and Kate is different. She burns in the sun but it’s slow unlike the ones who sacrificed themselves in the temple. Painful but still slow. There’s no scales, no claws and no accidental transforming into someone else like Richie.

She has fangs. She found out by accident when she was yawning earlier, could feel them come out and he heard her yell out in surprise. But even her fangs are small, not long and menacing like the others. There is only one thing that shocks him after everything he saw in that temple.

_Her eyes._

Her eyes take his breath away. They don’t turn yellow like the others did, like a warning to stay away. Kate’s eyes almost sparkle when he looks into them. Tiny golden flecks are dotted throughout her usual green and when the light hits them they glow like stars. Every time he looks into them he has to be shaken out of it like he’s in a trance. He’s not sure whether it’s a power she's gained or if it’s just him but he’s almost afraid to look now.

“Are you- uh… thirsty?”

She stills when he says it and he immediately cringes, wishes he had found a better to bring it up. “Sorry. Just seems better to know now so we can plan.” She furrows her brow at that but he shrugs, picks at the label on his bottle. “Been thinking about it. I could steal some blood from a hospital. Had some other ideas but didn’t think you’d want anyone being hurt for it.”

She stays silent so he wants to kick himself for even bringing up what he knew would be a tricky subject but when he finally looks over at her she looks shocked. Shocked but not appalled. Her eyes still sparkle but it’s from tears this time. She seems to smile though, even if it’s so small he isn’t sure it’s really there.

But then she shakes her head and the smile grows bigger. “That’s a smart plan but right now I’d just like a water.”

His grin is even bigger than hers when they clink their drinks together and watch the stars come out.

\--------------

Kate drives through the night while Seth sleeps. They’re pulled over on the side of an unpaved road when she wakes him. “Sun’s coming up.” He yawns and mumbles something about caffeine under his breath when she tosses a red bull into his lap. “Figured you might need a boost so I stopped awhile back.” He grunts a sound that she assumes means thanks before they switch seats.

Kate sleeps all day.

At first, he thinks she must just be tired from the last few days. _Do culebras need sleep? Is she even a culebra? She hasn’t been asking for any blood. I should have watched more vampire movies._ He tries to shake her awake when he finds a shady spot outside yet another rundown gas station but she shrugs him off. “Seth, I’m tired.” So he leaves her to sleep under his jacket once again.

He flips through the radio stations to drown out his thoughts but all he can find is talk radio in Spanish. The silence makes his skin itch but when he talks to Kate he gets no response. He continues on until the sun starts to set then pulls into the first motel he can find. It makes the Dew Drop Inn look like The Ritz but there’s a bar across the street and a flashing sign that reads “color tv” so he decides it’ll do.

He asks for a room facing west and ignores the curious look from the old man running the front desk. “Don’t want the sun waking me up in the morning.” _Or burning Kate but no one needs to know that._ He takes in their few belongings before he wakes up Kate. “Rise and shine. Or at least come sleep in an actual bed.” She stays still in the front seat.

“Come on, Kate. We’re both tired and I need to shower.”

Nothing.

He knocks on the window she’s resting against.

Nothing.

“Kate. This isn’t fucking funny.”

Silence.

The only sound is his heart pounding so hard in his chest it feels like it’s about to burst. He can’t stop his hand from shaking as he reaches for the door handle.

He barely catches Kate from falling to the ground when he pulls the car door open. “Kate!” She’s lifeless in his arms and he desperately pushes down his panic as he rushes her into their room. He sits her on the edge of the bed and gently smacks at her cheek to wake her up.

_She’s so pale._

“Kate! Please!” The words almost come out as sobs as he keeps trying to wake her. Her eyes finally flutter open when he grips her shoulders, shaking her. Her grips her chin to force her to look at him. “Look at me, princess. There you go.” She struggles to focus, blinking slowly like she’s forcing her eyes to stay open.

“Seth?” She struggles to get his name out, voice rough like sandpaper. “Right here. What’s wrong?” She starts to fall forward towards him but he wraps his arms around her, lifts her onto his lap as he sits on the bed. She leans against his chest to stay upright while he rubs circles along her back.

“You need to drink, don’t you?” She stills, eyes wide as she looks up at him in fear but she finally nods slowly before she looks away. He turns her chin back towards him. “Hey hey, it’s okay. Got a plan, remember?”

Before she can even question him he’s unbuttoning his shirt, holding her steady with one arm as shrugs his shirt to the floor. He sees the look of disbelief on her face when he speaks.

**“Drink from me.”**


	2. Chapter 2

She refuses at first. _Of course she does_. Kate is limp in his arms, can barely even keep her head up. But every time he tells her to ‘just fucking drink already’, she shakes her head ‘no’.

He yells.

He begs.

But she still won’t drink even as she becomes so weak she can’t keep her eyes open. “You’re not fucking dying, Kate!” He lowers her onto the bed and starts tearing through the room looking for anything he can use as a blade. _There’s gotta be something. Fuck it._ He grabs the lamp beside the bed and throws it to the ground. It shatters, broken shards of glass cascading all over the floor. He reaches for the sharpest piece and rushes over to Kate, still lifeless on the bed.

“Come on, Katie. Wake up!” He knows his yelling is useless so sets himself on the bed before he pulls Kate back onto his lap. Her head rests heavy against his shoulder as he holds the jagged piece of glass and presses it against his neck.

_1… 2… 3..._

He drags the broken glass across his skin, sucking in a breath from the sting. Seth watches the blood slowly flow out, making tiny droplets but she doesn’t seem to react like he hoped or even at all. She’s eerily still until she uses the last bit of her strength to push herself away from him. He can tell by her face even she knows it’s in vain as he keeps her held tight against his chest.

He hangs his head, frustrated and angry but mostly scared. _If I lose her, I really am alone_. He presses his forehead to hers and begs. “Kate, please just _drink_.” She’s completely still, her breathing so faint he can barely hear it so he swipes at the blood with his fingers and brings them up to her mouth hoping that she’ll have to drink when it’s right there. Kate makes a sound in the back of her throat when he touches her bottom lip, his blood coating it bright crimson.

It all happens so quickly after that.

One moment she’s eerily still and the next she’s alive. Her tongue licks at his bloody fingers before she wraps her lips around them. She licks them clean before her eyes dart to his bleeding neck and she pulls herself up in his lap. She leans forward and laps at the drops of blood that drip from the cut in his neck.

He tries to stay still, to keep himself from reacting but then Kate finally sinks her teeth into him and he can’t help the groan that comes out or how he grips her hips tightly as she takes her first pull from his veins.

_Fuck… fuck. It feels…. so goddamn good._

He feels wonderfully dizzy as she drinks from him, licking and sucking at his neck to get every drop. It feels good when she wraps her arms around him to be even closer. It feels even better when her hands wander along his shoulder or when her fingers card through his hair.

He should be fucking terrified. He watched people ripped to shreds by hungry culebras back at the Twister but it all seems so insignificant when he thinks of Kate dying. Instead he feels so alive, like all his nerves are firing at once each time she drinks in more of his blood. _More, drink more. Don’t stop_.

But then he moans her name and she pulls away as quick as it all started. She looks up at him, the golden spots in her eyes brighter than ever even though her vision seems glazed over. She blinks a few times but her stare stays unfocused.

“Kate? Are you...okay?”

She turns away from his gaze while her eyes flutter closed again. Her mouth slowly pulls up into a lazy smile as she let’s herself fall back against the bed with a satisfied sigh. She stretches herself out, arching her back as she drags her fingers over her chin to wipe up the blood she spilled as she drank. He watches her suck each digit into her mouth, licking each one clean as she hums happily to herself.

“Kate?” He tries again but he might as well be miles away. She’s in her own world, completely taken over by ecstasy as if she has just taken her first shot of heroin. She runs her hands over her stomach, and shivers in delight before she reaches her arms above her head.

Seth frowns, feels guilty like he’s a voyeur looking in on an intimate moment that should be just for Kate. He forces himself to walk away, heads into the bathroom and looks in the mirror. His neck is stained dark red with drying blood, even more has soaked into his undershirt. _More blood. At least it’s for good this time._ He pulls off his ruined undershirt then fiddles with the rusted taps and wets a cloth to clean the cuts on his neck.

He wipes at the blood as he peeks around the door to check on Kate but she’s where he left her, still delirious from drinking his blood. His brows knit together as he considers what just happened to Kate. To _him_.

_I liked it._

But before he can get too deep in his own thoughts, he looks back into the mirror and his freshly clean neck. He drops the cloth to the floor and leans in closer running his hand over his neck in awe. The bite marks Richie left for him have disappeared, so has the cut he made from the glass. Even the spot Kate bit into him is nowhere to be found. All he can see is skin as soft as if he’d never been bitten at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, that took so long and that it's so short. Technically, this isn't all of the original plan for chapter 2 but I figured it's been too long since I first posted. More is slowly coming.


	3. Chapter 3

_When Kate was nine, her favourite food in the whole world was her momma’s freshly baked apple pie, even though it had come in second place three years in a row at the church bake sale. As far as Kate was concerned, Mrs. Miller’s Lemon meringue was overrated and did not deserve the first place ribbon over her momma’s old family recipe._

_But outside of the bake sale, it was only ever for very special occasions. The 10th annual Fuller Family Reunion, her dad’s 50th birthday and to celebrate Scott’s first year in the family but one time her momma made it just for her._

_Kate had gotten in a fight at school. She was 11 and one of her classmates was picking on a girl who just got glasses. She demanded they leave the girl alone but it just seemed to egg them on. So she decided to ignore the advice on her W.W.J.D bracelet and pulled the bully’s hair. By the time the teacher had broken up the fight both her and Kate were left with ripped clothes, scratches and Kate was pretty sure she’d have a bruise on her cheek the next day._

_Her dad had picked her up shortly after lunch and gave her the speech she had expected. “There’s never a need to resort to violence, Katie-cakes. I know you know better than that. I’m disappointed.” That hurt the most, because Kate had thought her daddy would understand._

_But when Kate walked inside the house she smelled that familiar scent of freshly picked apples and her momma’s special cinnamon sprinkled pie crust that sent her running into the kitchen. There she found her momma waiting beside a cooling apple pie with her arms wide open. She rushes over to her and is immediately pulled into a hug. “You did the right thing, Kate. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you any different.”_

_After her momma wipes away her tears, she sits her down at the table and cuts them each a piece. They eat in silence but to this day it’s the best thing Kate has even eaten, made even better by the memory of her mother that it’s shared with._

But Seth’s blood…. _oh lord_ , his blood tastes even better than her momma’s apple pie and she salivates thinking of tasting it again.

_When Kate was fifteen she got to be a junior counsellor at the summer camp she and Scott had attended each year since they were 10. It was run by regulars at her Daddy’s church and full of kids from church groups all over the county._

_One of those kids was Jeremy. He was a year older than Kate and was on his second year as a junior counsellor. He also happened to be the object of Kate’s affection since she was 12._

_So when he asks Kate to sneak away from the bon fire with him she could barely contain her excitement. She followed behind him and once they were away from the others, hidden away by the trees, he took her hand._

_He had kissed by the lake that night, it was her first kiss and even though she remembers it fondly, it was also awkward and rushed. Both of them unsure exactly what to do and how to take the lead._

  _But what Kate thinks of is the excitement coursing through her as he lead her away. She remembers how her breath sped up when he took her hand and every nerve felt like it was sparking at once. It was lust and curiosity and being just a little bit bad all at once that left her feeling so alive._

 But as she sunk her teeth in Seth's skin and felt his essence coat the inside of her mouth she thinks that excitement was nothing compared to bursts of energy and life she feels right now.

_Sometimes Kate couldn't sleep. Not because she was worried about her momma or had a test coming up in school._

_No, she would lay wide awake just wanting._

_Only at first she didn't know what she wanted. She just knew it started low in her belly and made her ache between her legs._

_Despite her upbringing, Kate wasn't completely clueless when it came to sex. She listened as intently as anyone when girls at school would talk about the things they do with their boyfriends._

_But even though she has kissed Kyle she knew she wasn't ready for_ _that_ _. So one night when she was still wide awake late into the night she slid her hand between her legs and touched._

_It took a few tries on a few separate nights but she had begun to figure out what felt good._

_And it wasn't Kyle she thought of when she touches herself. She imagines a man, fantasizes about large hands roaming over her, knows just where to touch her to make her gasp. She's surprised that her faceless partner is the one that finally helps her over the edge but after several failed attempts at picturing herself with Kyle she finally comes. She lays on her stomach, grinding her hips down against the heel of her hand when her thighs start to tremble._

_She bites into her lip so hard it hurts as she finally comes for the first time in her life. She lays shaking in her bed, hand still in her underwear when she hears someone walk down the hall to the bathroom. She feels herself flush, momentarily nervous but soon she’s smiling to herself as she lays back in her bed feeling relaxed, like every ounce of tension she held had melted away._

_She falls asleep easily as she thinks how many of the cliches about how it feels to finally fall off that edge are true._

But the pleasure of Seth’s blood is so much better. She felt like she just kept falling, like the bliss just kept sparking inside her for hours, maybe days, maybe longer.

\---

When she opens her eyes, Seth is sitting shirtless beside her bed in a rickety old chair. He jumps up as soon as he sees her open her clear eyes and rushes to her side. “Kate? Kate? Can you hear me?”

His hands hover a few inches from her face like he wants to touch but isn’t sure he should. His eyes dart up and down, frantically looking her over. She wants to shove him away, doesn’t understand what has him so panicked.

But then it starts to come back to her. How weak she felt, the desperate pleading he made for her to drink from him and how terrified she was that she wouldn’t be able to stop. She was so afraid she’d kill him, drink every last drop of his blood before she’d realise what she was doing and would have to mourn the person who saved her over and over these last few days.

The horrifying possibilities she imagined must have been evident on her face because he finally does give in and touches her face. He softly places a hand against her cheek and her eyes dart to his.

“Kate?”

“Yes? Yes. I’m here.” She covers his hand with her own and leans into it like it’s an anchor holding onto her sanity. “What… what happened? I-I remember you asking me to drink then just…”

“Just... what?”

“...just...” She slowly shakes her head, unable to find any words to describe it. Ecstasy? Euphoria? Absolute bliss? Kate looks him in the eye, tries to convey it through her expression. “It was… everything.”

He looks confused but nods with a small frown.

She takes one of his hands in between her own and squeezes, looking up at him. “Thank you. You… -you did so much when you didn-”. But he starts shaking his head before she can even get the words out. 

“I did.”

They stare at each other in silence, hands still clasped together until she clears her throat. They pull apart and she sits up against the headboard, brushing her hair back from her face as he settles back once again in his chair. They both look down at their hands and Kate thinks she already misses having his hand it in hers. _How strange._

Eventually she looks over at him and asks him to fill her in on what happened. “I don’t remember much. Just your voice when you asked me to d-drink.” She tries to sound nonchalant but she still has trouble believing she bit into someone’s neck to drink their blood, let alone enjoy it. “And then, I was… gone.”

Seth nods a few times, leans forward resting his elbows on his knees. He opens his mouth to speak but seems stuck on the words at first. “You, uh, you... drank then when you stopped it was like, shit, I don’t know.” He shakes his head, fidgets with his hands. “You were out of it, eyes glazed over.” He peeks up at her then, checking to see her reaction.

“It felt good though, I think. You had a smile on your face the whole time. It was hours.” She’s shocked by that, because even though time seemed to speed along it also seemed to stand still. She looks out the window and sees the sun fading, realizes almost a day has passed since she remembers being alert.

"Did I hurt you?" She leans forward, reaches across the bed to touch his hand but stops herself. Seth shakes his head but leans back in his chair, crossing his arms and puts on a forced grin. "Takes more than that to hurt me, Princess."

She rolls her eyes but still notices his usual bravado is toned down, like he only half heartedly cares to keep up the act. "I mean, did I drink too much? Or at least stop when you asked..."

He tilts his head to the side, looking her over as he chooses his words but eventually he just nods. She wonders if something else happened. Did he have to yell, beg or even pry her off of him? Did she try to hurt him? She looks to his neck to see how bad the wounds from her bite is but she can't see anything.

"Where- did I...?" She reaches up to her own neck but Seth's eyes go wide when he realizes what she's asking. He scratches at the back of his neck and avoids her gaze. "Uh, that's- I'm not sure."

“You’re not sure where I bit you?” Seth fidgets in his seat some more before he lets out a sigh.

"Something happened after you drank from me." He pauses, his eyes on floor as he looks for a way to explain. "I went to clean up the blood and when I looked in the mirror... they're gone, Kate. Same with the marks from Ric-... My brother."

"How?" She shakes her head disbelief. 

He almost laughs. "I have no idea." His expression matches hers, still unable to wrap his head around it all.

They stay silent, both of them going over what happened in their head.

Everything that she's gone through in the past few days is starting to sink in. When she closes her eyes she replays the look on her daddy's face when she stabs the stake into his chest followed by the memory of Carlos cutting into her with his knife.

Panic overtakes her and it's suddenly hard to breathe. She grips the sheets as she attempts to calm her breathing when she feels the bed dip down.

Her eyes open and Seth is in front of her, his hand hovering above her clenched fist. She loosens her grip on the blanket and turns her palm up, welcoming the warmness of his skin against hers.

He looks at their hands and let's out a shaky breath. His voice is quiet, unsure when he speaks.

"I guess didn't keep my promise." She quirks her head to the side, brow furrowed in confusion.

"No bumps or scrapes." He says it as if he speaking to himself and when he looks up the emotion in his expression makes her heart hurt for him even after everyone she’s gone through. He stands up and starts pacing the room. “I fucking did this to you! I saw you and your family in that RV and thought you were my ticket to millions.”

She doesn’t know why she argues, she knows that much is true. “You didn’t know there would be culebras. None of us did.”

“I could have let you leave. Fuck, why didn’t I just give you the goddamn keys?” He’s not even speaking to her anymore as he berates himself for his choices. His pacing and ranting continues until he’s breathing hard, not from exhaustion but panic.

She picks at a snag in the blanket in front of her, pondering the same question he asked himself. “Well… why didn’t you?”

He looks like a deer caught in the headlights when he turns to her, eyes wide and mouth open like he wants to speak but is caught on the words. “I-...”

She waits, watching him as he swallows hard. She’s not angry even though a part of her brain screams at her that she should be. Right now she’s simply curious but that same angry part of her still savours watching him struggle.

He finally sits on the edge of the bed beside her, his head down as though he’s bowing to her, showing her his vulnerability, knows he owes her that much.

“I wanted to be a part of what you had. I didn’t want you to go.” He can’t meet her eye at first but she tilts his chin up, notices the blush on his cheeks. “I still don’t.”

The taste of Seth’s blood comes rushing back to her suddenly. The delicious, sweet, overwhelming flavour that is just so _Seth_. But she notices something else this time, a taste of something subtle but distinct she was too distracted to sense before. 

It’s warm and makes her feel safe, likes she’s wrapped up in the arms of someone she trusts but she can’t find a name for it.

“Okay.”

He looks at her like he’s waiting for more but when she only offers up a tiny smile his face softens.

“...okay.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well another shorter chapter but we're gonna fast forward a bit next chapter now that they have a grasp on what's happening.


	4. Chapter 4

It takes them a few weeks but they fall into their own strange, little routine.

 

The first thing they tackle is how often Kate needs to feed from Seth. She's still adamant about not killing to survive but finding the right balance to keep both of them safe requires some experimentation.

 

"I failed science, you know?"

 

"Well lucky for you I had straight A's." He chuckles to himself.

 

"Smartass." When she sticks out her tongue he returns the gesture. He can’t hope the surge of pride he feels when Kate fails at holding back her smile before returning to write in her notebook.

 

They start their experiment with Kate drinking every other day. She reasons since she isn't thirsty yet she'd only need to drink small amounts.

 

But it took less than a week before Seth started to feel weak and when Kate awoke from her blood high she found him stumbling out from the bathroom from being lightheaded. She immediately called off that schedule as she helped Seth into bed so he could rest.

 

They didn’t fare any better when they tried four days. Kate would have to drink too much from him all at once and Seth would end up sick and worn out by the time she had satisfied the thirst she felt.

 

In the end, they settle on three days.

 

“It’s perfect. I’m just starting to get thirsty and you have enough time to recover before I have to feed again.” She has her notebook on her lap, she keeps it filled with all research she’s done while stopping at internet cafes or libraries.

 

Seth grows used to her jotting down notes through their day, watches her flip between sections she’s divided up. There’s one for feeding, another for all the tiny changes she’s noticed in herself and in the back she writes her memories of what happened to her in the temple.

 

Those are the times he thinks of grabbing the book and throwing it away, burning it. Tears roll down her cheeks as she pushes herself to recall every excruciating detail she can just so she can get another clue about what’s happened to her.

 

She doesn’t want to be a culebra.

 

He wakes up one day to a tiny, choked sob. When he opens his eyes and notices her in the corner, her knees tucked against her chest and a bright beam of sunlight narrowly avoiding her. He stays silent, just watching her as she slowly reaches her hand out towards the light, it takes everything not to jump up and stop her. Her fingers flex in the light and her whole body seems to relax briefly as she takes in the feeling of the sun’s warmth on her skin for the first time in months. But then tiny plumes of smoke rise up from her hand and a whimper escapes along with her tears.

 

That’s when he throws back the covers and hurries over to her. He kneels in front of her, blocking the hot afternoon sun from her. It stings against the bare skin of his back but he isn’t phased and he carefully gathers up her hands, watching as the burns heal themselves.

 

She won’t look up at him and suddenly it hits him how hard this is on her. She acts so okay, never seems phased even though her whole world is upside down. He doesn’t bother asking if she’s okay, knows the answer because he feels the same way. Instead he pulls her close, tucking her against his chest as he lifts her up and carries her away from the light.

 

When she finally speaks her eyes are unfocused, shoulders slumped like she can’t bare to stay upright. “I’m one of them.”

 

“No.” He reaches out to tilt her chin up, needs her to see that he means what he’s about to say. “There is nothing in this whole goddamn world like you.”

 

She doesn’t say anything, just curls up against his side and lets herself fall into a restless sleep. He doesn’t know if she believes him. He’s always had a way with words right until he needs them to really mean something.

 

But how do you tell someone that you think an ancient culebra tradition didn’t work on them because they have a light inside them? He’d heard her father say it when they were trapped below that temple trying to make their escape and hadn’t been able to shake it since.

 

She fucking glows. She’s been shining as bright as the sun since she almost ran him over with the RV and not even some psycho snake venom injected into her has been able to put it out. In fact, if you ask Seth, that venom never had a chance.

 

He is sure she is a culebra but knows she’s not like the rest because whatever that brightness inside her is, it fought off the poison and helped keep her _Kate_. He’s not even sure whether that would make her happy or not, she fights so hard for answers and this just makes them even more difficult to find. If she isn't like the other culebras then what will happen to her?

 

They’ve learned so much about the culebras through Kate’s research and for better or worse, not all of it applies to her.

 

Her cravings for blood seem much more manageable than a typical culebra. She found stories of culebras who broken out of heavy chains, breaking off their own limbs just to be free to feed but even as she was nearing a painful death she still resisted drinking from Seth.

 

She can survive longer under the sun. It still hurts her but he knows she can last a few minutes before it kills her. The others aren't so lucky.

 

Culebras burn up quickly. He’s learned just how fast from the experiments he conducts himself while Kate enjoys her feeding.

 

He slips out a few hours before the sun rises after making sure Kate is okay as she comes down from drinking his blood. She’s too out of it to notice as he ventures out into the dark. It never takes him long to find one. He swears he can smell them as they follow drunken tourists back to their hotels. He grabs them before they can steal the innocent victims and ties them up before he tosses them in the trunk.

 

Then he drives.

 

He drives out into the desert, away from any lights of the towns and cities and watches the sun creep up over the horizon. Once the sun washes over him, he takes one last swig of tequila and opens the trunk.

 

“Wakey wakey, snakey.”

 

He drags them out of the car, dropping them on the ground before he gets his watch ready. He pulls the canvas bag covering their head off and tosses it aside. He steps back as watches the bright morning sun quickly burns their skin, smoke billowing off of them as they scream in pain.

 

_58 Seconds_.

 

That’s the longest it’s taken for them to burn up. He keeps track of his results on a page he ripped out of a motel bible back in Saltillo.

 

He usually makes it back just after she comes back to herself, bringing home breakfast to hide away the real reason he was gone.

 

The thing is, she's coming down from her blood high faster now. She was wide awake and freshly showered when he came in even though last time she was just opening her eyes as he arrived home.

 

She's sitting on the end of her bed, drying her hair with a spare towel. “What took you so long?”. He shrugs, tosses a paper bag full of breakfast pastries at her. “Guess I was taking my time. How long you been up?”

 

She opens the bag digging through for her favourite. “About an hour.” She says before she bites into a fresh pastry.

 

“Huh. You're coming back quicker every time. That's good.” She's quiet, avoiding his gaze as she swallows her bite. “That's good, right?”

 

Her head tilts as she contemplates her answer. “It's not just that. When I’m - it’s like I can... sense you now.” He's frozen in place as he waits for her to continue. “You sit in the chair in the corner and you worry, always bouncing your knee. It’s not something I can see, just a feeling.” A wistful smile appears on her face as she looks off to his resting spot. “I try to call you over sometimes.”

 

He frowns. “Sorry, I gu-” But she cuts him off, assuring him it’s fine and they finish their breakfast in silence, both pretending to watch the barely working television.

 

He really does try his best not to watch in awe when she licks the sugary crumbs from her fingers just like she licked his blood from them before she turns back to him, oblivious to her effect on him. She looks at him, narrowing her eyes before taking her time in looking him up and down.

 

He tries to lighten the mood when he winks at her. “See something you like?” She giggles as she shakes her head but her rosy cheeks give her away. It feels like a victory.

 

“Sorry, I just- I don’t know.” Her hair falls out from behind her ears as she shrugs but he doesn’t give her an out now that she’s peaked his curiosity.

 

“Spill it.”

 

She sighs, brushing her hair back away from her face. “You- your blood, it tastes… different lately. I thought maybe I was imagining it but now I’m sure something’s changed.”

 

He tries to think about what's different.

 

_Everything_.

 

The first time she drank from him his whole world had just shattered and this girl, this stranger, was all he had left. He felt fucking terrified that she’d be gone too and he’d be alone with her death on him. He had left bodies behind for years but twenty four hours with her and that’d be his biggest sin.

 

As if getting her tortured and turned into some version of the monsters who destroyed their worlds wasn’t already unforgivable.

 

But she _had_ forgiven him.

 

The first time she drank his blood he had cared for her, felt responsible for keeping her alive and guilty for putting her through so much but now when she drinks his blood he adores her. She’s so fucking beautiful and even though they spend their time in the dark it’s like she’s shining.

 

He'd say he's falling for Kate but the truth is he's already hit the ground. He should be miserable since the one person who he always had in his life chose some flying snake demon over him. Or being on the run in Mexico with no money or destination. Even the sun is chasing him when he spends a huge portion of his day keeping its light from hurting Kate.

 

Because Richie leaving him made him angry, hurt him in a way he hadn't anticipated but the thought of losing Kate, it makes him feel sick.

 

He promised her she wouldn't get hurt in that motel room in Texas and he broke it. He hates himself for it. So when she came running out of that temple desperate and in pain he promised himself never again.

 

He's been called a good for nothing piece of shit so many times he's lost count, knows they meant it too. But for the first time he knows they're wrong because as long as he's breathing he's gonna keep her safe. He's been putting his feelings aside, ignoring the pangs in his heart when she smiles at him.

 

That's how he knows he's fucked up.

 

The feeling of Kate's fangs piercing his skin feels better than any fuck, any drug, any pleasure he's had. He knows it's only getting worse when he wakes late in the afternoon a few days later and remembers that she feeds tonight.

 

That in just a few hours he’ll sit on the bed and watch as she crawls onto it and settle herself on his lap. His chest will be bare (why sacrifice more clothes to blood stains) and she’ll be wearing his boxers (she likes to be comfortable when they hang around the motel). She’ll ask him if he’s okay, if he’s sure as she gently caresses the skin that she’s about to sink her teeth into and he’ll hold back the moan threatening to escape because of her touch.

 

He always smiles though, tells her he’s sure and hopes that she doesn’t remember the satisfied sound he makes as her fangs tear into his skin.

 

It stings. It always stings for a moment but then her tongue brushes up against her fangs along his skin and suddenly it’s gone.

 

It's replaced with this numbing pleasure that spreads through him from where she laps at his blood all the way down to his fingertips.

 

She buries her fingers in his hair, tugs just a little when his head lulls too far to the side for her liking.

 

It's always over too soon.

 

When he sits back later and watches her he's thankful that even as she drinks she knows when to stop. He wants to beg her not to stop, wonders if she'd even hear him.

 

She pulls her fangs from him, licks over the tiny little bleeding wounds she leaves then falls against his chest, sighing with a lazy smile on her face.

 

He'll brush her hair from her face, enjoy the feeling of her up against him for a moment before he lowers her back onto the bed then steps away.

 

He'll sit in his chair, watches her writhe on the bed, hears her whimper as she runs her fingers along the bare skin showing where her shirt rode up.

 

He hates that he gets hard, starts to imagine he's the one causing her pleasure.

 

As soon as he knows she's okay he heads to the shower, feels his legs shake as he steps in, can barely wait for the water to turn warm before he starts stroking himself.

 

_Her smile._

 

_The sparkle in her eyes when she catches him watching her._

 

_The happy little sigh she lets out as she falls back against the bed as she licks his blood from her lips_.

 

He has to hold himself steady against the wall as he comes, her name coming from him in a choked sob.

 

Then he watches over her from his chair in the corner, his leg bouncing nervously as he waits for her to come back. He wants to lay with her, hold her against his chest and tell her he's right there, waiting for her. That she can take her time because he's making sure she's safe.

 

He's become a fucking sap.

 

He's fallen in love with her.

 

He's fucked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What else can I say other than I'm sorry this took so long? I'm gonna finish, dammit! More Kate POV next chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will finish this fic even if it kills me.

The late afternoon sun shines down over their latest stolen car as Seth speeds through the desert to the next town. Kate is asleep in the passenger seat, hidden under the same beaten up jacket he passed along to her during that first car ride when she’s startled awake by Seth’s yelling and a burning pain on her arm.

“Kate! Jesus Christ! Wake up!”

He looks terrified as he pulls her from the passenger seat and over to the shade of the driver’s side, rearranging the beat up sports coat to cover her bare skin. She keeps her head is tucked under his chin while the pain slowly dissipates.

“Seth, what are you- what happened?” Her voice shaking, still rough from sleep.

“You were fucking burning is what happened. Your arm.” He carefully lifts her arm to inspect her injuries but the burns have nearly healed, showing only the slightest hint of red where her flesh had sizzled moments before.

“You didn’t even wake up. There were flames.” He runs his hand over his face. “Scared the shit outta me.”

The fear is his voice is why he asks for extra blankets at the next motel. He uses them to block out any sliver of sunlight that dares enter their room.

“Those cheap ass blinds all these shitholes use still let in too much light. Not taking any chances from now on.”

She sits cross legged on the bed and silently watches him struggle to hang the threadbare blanket. He ignores her questions about this really being necessary and turns to her with a proud grin on his face when he finally gets the blanket to stay.

\-----------

She hasn't seen the sun in weeks.

Seth shuttles her from darkened motel room to darkened motel room once the sun has fallen below the horizon. They move around less now. Once, maybe twice, a week if someone looks at them the wrong way.

But always late into the night when the sun has set.

It's not that things are awful now that they truly have become creatures of the night. Her and Seth have never been closer, more in sync. It's like the connection that she feels with him when she drinks his blood never fully fades, an invisible string connecting them.

She knows by a change in the air or maybe it's how the light his eye fades, when he's itching to lose himself in the bottle. She'll let him from time to time, those moments where she's too tired to distract him and pulls the covers up to her chin to sleep though his self-destruction. 

But most of the time she simply crawls beside him in their bed, props her head on her hand and waits for him to look at her with his dark brow raised in question.

“Tell me about Kansas.” She asks as she runs her fingers through his thick hair, watching how his face softens from her gentle touch. 

“What do you wanna know?”

She leans in closer and settles, snuggled up to his side with her hand resting on his chest over his heart, trying to ignore how it beats faster when she’s so close to him and how hers does the same thing. 

“Everything.”

They fall asleep curled up on top of the covers sharing stories about their favourite childhood memories, why ice cream is better on its own then with birthday cake and how they both managed to break their arm when they were 9.

She still wakes up to her skin itching, the pleasant memories from the night before momentarily forgotten when she finds she’s still hidden away in the darkness. She needs the sun, to feel it on her skin, even if it's only for a moment.

So she untangles herself from Seth and slowly crosses the room. Her fingers twitch as she reaches for the doorknob as she takes one last look over her shoulder, making sure he's still asleep.

It’s late in the afternoon when the door opens, the sun is still high up in the sky, starting it’s descent back to the ground. They’re schedules are nearly opposite with the living world but as soon as her eyes adjust the light she feels wide awake.

She closes her eyes and steps forward into the shade, taking her time the relish the warmth. She’s felt so cold these past few weeks and even though the drop in temperature was only in her mind she still covered herself in sweaters and blankets in a vain attempt to warm herself.

As she finally steps forward into the bright sunlight she thinks she understands culebras and their need to hurt, to destroy, for the first time. She sees what a just a few weeks without light does to your mind, feels a sudden pity for the ones who spend centuries hiding.

The darkness drives you mad.

But just as she begins to question her own sanity she’s pulled from the light. It’s sudden and the pain from the loss of the sun on her skin is worse the the pain of flames that began to cover her bare flesh.

“What the hell are you thinking, Kate? Have you lost your goddamn mind!”

Seth pulls her back into the darkness. She looks down to where he tightly grips her arm and sees light grey smoke still slowly rising from her skin and feels anger bubble up through her.

She forgets her new found strength as she shoves him in the chest and he goes flying back against the wall. The sound of his head hitting the drywall echoes throughout the room.

“I’m not your prisoner!” She ignores his look of pain as he stands back up and steps towards him, pointing her finger in his face. “You're locking me away to live with you in the shadows. You don't get to make decisions for me.”

He rubs at the back of his head, scowling at her as he tries to regain his footing. 

“You wanna go dance in the sun? Go right ahead.” He steps past her and pulls open the door, motioning the way. “See what happens. Sick of being your blood bag anyways.”

She doesn't recognize the sound of her own laugh. It's cruel and dangerous, the kind that would give her chills if it came from anyone else but she feels calm as she smiles serenely at him. She shakes her head as she turns to take his invitation to play in the light. Her foot is nearly past the threshold but before she can cross through the door he grips her hand.

The look on his face when she slowly turns back to him makes her breath catch in her throat. The anger is gone and instead his eyes are wide, showing nothing but fear.

“Kate…”

His voice cracks as he says her name but it isn’t enough and soon she starts to pull herself away.

“Please, Kate. Please. If anything happened to you…” She sighs, shutting the door and turning to face him. She takes his hands, linking their fingers and suddenly finds comfort in seeing his large hands up against her small ones.

“I don't have a death wish, Seth. But I can't live with you in the dark.” He opens his mouth to argue but she stops him with a pointed look. “I know you worry but you can't lock me away in motel rooms.”

Seth steps closer to her, looking down at their hands still clasped together. “One slip up, Katie. That’s all and you’d be dust.” 

She pulls her hand free, reaching up to touch his cheek, making him look her in the eye. “Why is that any different from you?” He looks at her confused. “You’re happy to let me drink from you, never tell me to stop even when you need me to.”

He swallows hard as his cheeks turn red but she just slips her hand into the hair at the nape of his neck and pulls him closer, touching his forehead to hers.

“I can't stay in the dark anymore. My mind-”. She shakes her head, trying to clear it. “I don't wanna lose myself.”

“Okay.” He whispers like his promise is a secret even though they’re alone and when she looks up into his eyes she sees them shine, tears valiantly fighting to fall. 

She swipes at the one that escapes with her thumb and he smiles sheepishly, leaning into her touch.

“Okay.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short-ish but yay getting smutty! I will finish this dammit.

Seth slips his hand up under her baggy t-shirt, slowly rubbing soothing circles against her back as she settles onto his lap.

Only a few hours have passed since their fight earlier but it also brought relief from the angry tension that had slowly been brewing underneath the surface. Even after Seth continued his apology by getting Kate dinner from her favourite little food truck another underlying energy filled the air, pulling them closer together.

Kate gently caresses his neck with the back of her fingers, watching his eyes drift closed and his lips part as she passes the spot she drinks from. She licks her lips, imagining his blood flowing down her throat and the way Seth moans when she sinks her teeth in.

“What does it feel like?”

His eyes snap open and she holds back a gasp when she sees how dark they look. She keeps her eyes on his, still stroking his neck as she asks him again.

“It feels like... like there’s this electricity that goes through me. It stings- but it in a good way.” She brushes her lips over his pulse, pausing to ask what else. “It f-feels like… we’re connected.”

She pulls back, licking her lips and gently grips his chin, tilting it so their eyes meet.

“Do you like it?”

Seth looks up at her through his lashes, nodding.

“God, Katie. It feels so fucking good. Sometimes I never want you to stop.” She runs her thumb over his pouting bottom lip, smiling when he softly kisses it.

“Why didn’t you say?”

He stutters as he tries to answer, looking for the words but she presses her lips to his, cutting him off before he can answer. His palms flatten against her back, holding her close as she nips at his lip and making him groan. She finally pulls away, her eyes shut and licks at her lips.

“God, Seth. You taste so good. Your skin.” A shiver runs through her. “Your blood.”

“Really?” He looks up at her, his eyes wide and full of surprise.

She nods, stroking his cheek and sighs as he leans into her touch. “You taste like sunshine.”

She leans in and licks along his neck, smiling when _he_ shivers and quietly begs her to _do it. Do it. Please, Katie._

She’s always bit into him quickly, trying to make it as painless as possible for him but now she teases him, dragging her fangs across his skin. His hands on her waist tremble, fingers flexing as he anticipates her bite.

She slowly sinks her sharpened teeth into his flesh as his grip tightens on her waist. His eyes shut as he moans, chest rumbling as she slowly takes her first pull of blood.

“Fuck.” He drags out the curse. “Don't stop.”

She’s unhurried as she drinks his blood in, enjoying how it flows just as leisurely down her throat. Her fingers run through his hair down to the back of his neck, stroking the sensitive skin there and relishing how desperate he sounds as he begs her for more.

But then her head starts to swim and the wonderful sounds Seth is making seem further away. The hazy feeling she usually welcomes as she drinks is tugging her away so she pulls away from his neck instead, resting her forehead against his shoulder while she clears her head.

“Katie, what's wrong?”

He rubs swirling patterns along her back and when she finally lifts her heavy head, a smile plays on her lips.

“I don't want t-to slip away after. I want to be here with you.”

The words have barely left her mouth when he kisses her, licking into her mouth even as his own blood trickles down her chin.

He trails his kisses down her neck, kissing and sucking and biting and, _God_ , she thinks she understands why he likes when she bites him even though his are sweet and gentle while hers break his skin.

Her fingers card through his hair as he continues his exploration. She licks at her lips savoring the taste of his blood as he tastes her skin.

“It feels so good, Seth. Your blood… you… like the sun is on my skin again.”

She pulls his mouth back to hers, kissing him as she wraps her arms around his neck and everything comes to a standstill except for the feeling of his hands running up and down her back.

He's got this smile on his face that makes her breath catch in her throat and makes him seem so much younger, softer even.

“Seth?”

His eyes close and his voice shakes as he replies.

“Y-yeah, Katie?”

She lifts her t-shirt over her head, her hair falling down in waves over her shoulders as his hands drift up on instinct to touch the newly exposed skin. His eyes stay locked on hers as he leans forward to place slow, deliberate kisses over her bare chest. Kate’s eye close as a soft sigh escapes and he knows she can feel him against her skin as his mouth begins it’s descent lower.

She let’s out a surprised little yelp when he suddenly lifts her and lays her back against the bed where he kneels in between her thighs. She isn’t nervous as he looks over her nearly bare body or as he runs his hands along her sides and over her breasts. She simply smiles at him, raises her arms above her head and lifts her hips.

“Off.”

He hooks his fingers in the waistband of her shorts, tugging them and her underwear down over his hips. “Whatever my girl wants.”

She reaches to run her hand over his bare chest, smiling to herself when he can’t help the quiet groan her touch causes. “You. I want you.”

“Want you too.” He leans forward, laying over her and kissing her breathless before he slowly kisses his way down. He nudges her thighs apart, hooking her leg over his shoulder to keep her open for him.

He'd always taken his time in his dreams, slowly kissing her everywhere but her center before he'd work his way to where she wanted him. Now that it was happening, all his original intentions were forgotten the moment he settled between her thighs.

It was better then the scenarios he'd created in his head. In his mind she was nervous, timid but he should have known the real Kate, his Kate, wouldn't be. Not with him.

She tugged on his hair until he found that perfect spot she wanted him to work over. She held him in place says she ground her hips up against his eager mouth. And when he slid his hands from her waist to grab her ass, holding her where he wanted as he sucked on her clit, she begged him not to stop.

She’s shaking, completely breathless as her orgasm washes over her. He crawls up over her, pinning her hands above her head, watching her flushed cheeks and soft lashes flutter as she recovers.

She's got a tiny dot of red on her chin, a reminder of how dangerous she could be. But when she looks up at him, her eyes sparkling, her words make him feel like dangerous one.

“Seth… Fuck me.”

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written anything in years so this could be awful. We'll see how it goes. Should be 3 or 4 parts.


End file.
